As far as I know, the issue with asbestos is the dust and the inhalation risk. Not tough to address: when you work on the brakes, wear an inhalation mask (something with filters on it, tight sealing - not just one of those 25-cent masks that cover your mouth and nose). Keep in mind the dust will migrate to your clothes as well, so I'd probably blow myself clean while wearing the mask, then walk away from the cloud before removing the mask.
Times to be cautious are if you sand/scuff/wire wheel the drums to clean them up, thereby spreading brake dust into the air, or using shop air to blow clean the brakes. Also, if you choose to drill out the rivets to remove the pads yourself, same issue. You can always have the brake shop remove the pads from the shoes for you (at a slightly added expense). Either way, as for disposal, I don't know for sure - I'd probably just chuck 'em, but I suppose there may be a more environmentally sound answer. Heck - take 'em to the brake shop - they'll know what to do.
It's really more of a multi-exposure risk, but it's cumulative, so no point in being careless.
Hope this helps. -Michael
